Simple Steps to a Healthier Office Space

Summary: Have you ever gotten to the end of your work day and felt nauseous? It may not be your boss that's causing you to feel this way.

Air Date: 9/24/14

Duration: 10

Host: Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH

Guest Bio: Ron and Lisa Beres, Certified Green Building Professionals

Lisa and Ron Beres are Certified Green Building Professionals, Building Biologists and published authors of several books including, Just GREEN It! and the children's book, My Body My House. In addition to testing the health of homes, their consulting business includes celebrities and Fortune 500s. They are award-winning television media experts and have appeared on The Rachael Ray Show, The Suzanne Show, The Doctors, Fox & Friends, The Today Show with Matt Lauer, NBC's Nightly News with Brian Williams, Discovery's Greenovate and Chelsea Lately on E!

Have you ever gotten to the end of your work day and just felt nauseous, or had a headache, or just felt yucky overall?

It may not be your boss or co-workers that are causing you to feel this way.

Unhealthy air and toxic chemicals abound in an office environment. In fact, the air in an office building can be up to 100 times worse than the outside air. The EPA calls this "sick building syndrome," because it can literally make office workers sick.

Plus, the average office space today is filled with so many hidden chemicals. These chemicals are found in paint, carpet, office furniture, cleaners, printers and even your keyboard, which can have five times as many bacteria as found in a bathroom.

How can you avoid some of these toxins and chemicals and create an office space that's healthy and safe? Green Building Professionals, Lisa and Ron Beres, are back to share some tips for doing just that.

Electromagnetic Pollution

First, try to avoid any form of electromagnetic pollution via exposure to radio frequencies from the wireless devices you use (keyboards, mouses, headsets, wi-fi, etc.).

The communication that goes on within your bodily systems and cells happens by electrical pulses. When you have outside radio frequencies in such close proximity to your body, your body mimics those pulses instead of the internal pulses that keep you healthy. This can affect your stress levels and your immune system, and even poses a cancer risk.

The solution? Try to return to all cabled/wired equipment if possible, including going back to using a modem.

Microwaves

Many office break rooms have a microwave (or a few) to heat up workers' lunches or snacks. But the health damage caused by the waves emitted from these machines is massive. In fact, some studies have shown that foods and beverages heated up in a microwave actually become carcinogenic. If you're in the break room, make sure you're standing at least six feet away from the machine when it's in use.

Water

Another break room danger is the water. Make sure you're drinking filtered water and avoiding water straight from the tap. The average utility company only tests for about 100 chemicals in water, when there is actually thousands.

Tune in as Lisa and Ron join Lisa and Andrea to share more tips like these. You can also visit Ron and Lisa's training website for free videos and a cheat sheet that you can utilize to help protect yourself.